Less than two weeks out from the Buffalo Bills’ Week 1 road game against the Houston Texans, president of football operations/general manager Brandon Beane took the podium on Tuesday, September 1 to answer a wide variety of questions in a presser that lasted over 36 minutes. Widely viewed as a straight shooter with the media, Beane dove into reporters’ queries with meaningful intent.
What stood about about Beane’s latest comments on Buffalo’s roster? Here are a few key points to consider…
NFL practice squad rules have changed for the better
Beane was asked about navigating the practice squad and how things have changed in recent years. Interestingly, he pointed to COVID-19 as providing a boost toward a better practice squad situation. Where prior to the pandemic NFL practice squads were a paltry eight players deep, now that number has increased twofold to 16. Additionally, teams are allowed to call up two practice squad players ahead of each week’s game, which stands as a carryover from a then-necessary COVID reality.
On trading Sedrick Van Pran-Granger to the Colts
Beane had high praise for Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, who the team traded to the Indianapolis Colts during final roster cutdowns this past weekend. While noting that SVP-G dealt with an unfortunate injury sidelining him at the outset last season, Beane complimented his play in the team’s Week 18 finale against the New York Jets.
Ultimately, Beane understood that it was a narrow path for SVP-G to play for the Bills on game day due to the overall makeup of the room. Beane felt it was unfair to SVP-G to languish on Buffalo’s roster as a weekly inactive, and, and decided it was best to give the former 2024 fifth-round pick a better shot at realizing his dream with a new opportunity on a different roster.
What’s really going on with RB Ty Johnson?
There’s no official injury report until early next week, but we’ve known for a bit now that running back Ty Johnson has dealt with a lower-body injury since the end of training camp. Given the roster moves, one might be led to believe that Johnson is healthy and ready to go for Week 1. Otherwise, it was reasonable to imagine a scenario where Johnson was sent to short-term Injured Reserve thus creating a more meaningful spot for running back Ian Wheeler.
Of course, none of that happened. So is Johnson really healthy and ready to go, with the team simply taking utmost precaution in managing his health?
I witnessed the play Johnson was injured on first-hand and directly, in fact sitting directly in front of the specific action during the annual “Return of the Blue & Red” practice (with photos showing the injury). Johnson was injured when reaching out for a pass, getting his foot caught up in the field/sod. It didn’t seem like a major injury at the time to me, but I’m as far from a medical professional as it gets — I haven’t even played on on TV.
I’d like to believe that Johnson is fully ready to go, but I won’t deny that Beane’s latest comments gave me pause. When asked about the situation, Beane stated that the latest injury was “a bit different’ than the prior one. He said Johnson’s getting better, which, to me, implies he’s not quite ready. Beane also discussed how roster decisions for Week 1 will come into play when the time is right.
The team has 12 days to get things right on this topic, which could mean giving running back Frank Gore Jr. a game-day check for Week 1.
The Bills had been after Greg Dortch for a bit
When asked about newly signed wide receiver Greg Dortch, Beane mentioned that he was a player on the team’s radar going back to last offseason during free agency. Ultimately, Dortch signed on with the Detroit Lions in 2025 — but Detroit released him this past weekend.
Beane said that the numbers were similar between the Lions and Bills offers last season, but that they were thrilled to get another chance at bringing him into the fold at wide receiver. Now, Dortch could also get a massive look at winning the team’s punt return role. Dortch has a connection to current Bills special teams coach Jeff Rodgers, which undoubtedly played a key role in his arrival to Western New York.
What else caught your attention during Brandon Beane’s latest media session? Dive into Beane’s full press conference in the video embedded below, and sound off in the comments section!
